Captain Nick Lloyd
Captain Nick Lloyd served with the Rhodesian Army during the New Commonwealth's fight in Namibia against Communist insurgents during the 1980s. He commanded the Red-Team-Seven special unit. Early Career Nick Lloyd was born in Shropshire in the United Kingdom and took an interest in the military from an early age. At 16 he earned a scholarship to the New Commonwealth Academy of Military Science in Auckland, New Zealand. His time at the Academy would have a profound effect on his life. He demonstrated a particular aptitude for small unit combat and in his third year he published a paper entitled "Small Forces Hit Hardest" that earned him the Field Marshall Montgomery Prize. In 1980 he graduated from the Academy 13th in his year (out of 217 students) and was offered a commission in the Australian, British and Rhodesian armies. Still young and eager for new challenges he accepted a commission of 2nd Lieutenant in the Rhodesian Army. He immediately volunteered for the Rhodesian Parachute Regiment and was accepted completing his training in 1981 before joining 3 Para, Rhodesian Army. Falklands War In 1982 3 Para was part of the contingent that was sent to the South Atlantic to liberate the New Commonwealth nation of the Falkland Islands. 3 Para's main combat in the retaking of the islands was the fight to destroy an Argentine observation post in the Hornby Mountain range on the 28th May. The attack began in the early hours of the morning and was over by 0442hrs when the Argentinians surrendered. When the islands were liberated 3 Para was ordered back to Rhodesia. The Namibian Bush War By 1983 it was clear that the New Commonwealth was going to have to intervene in the Communist insurgency taking place in Namibia. Supported by neighbouring Angola (who in turn were supported by Cubans) the insurgency was gaining momentum and after several incidents where civilian atrocities had been carried out the New Commonwealth Council voted to send troops lead by South Africa. Initially 3 Para was not part of Rhodesia's commitment but as the fighting intensified the unit readied itself for action. Lloyd was now a 1st Lieutenant following his combat experience in the Falklands and when the Rhodesians suggested forming a new special forces unit Lloyd's name came up as a result of his work at the Auckland Academy. Red-Team-Seven "Red Team" was the official title of a new unit formed by the Rhodesian Army in 1983. It was created as a result of combat experience in Rhodesia's own internal bush war during the late 1970s. The unit had two primary functions; #The rescue of hostages. #The capture of leading members of terrorist or insurgent groups. Lloyd was placed in command of Red-Team-Seven which comprised of himself and six NCOs. Lloyd would only accept the position however if he could chose his team and he selected men he had served with from 3 Para in the Falklands. These men had all proven themselves in combat so they were logical choices. Training Intensive training of the new team began in January 1984. As added incentives for joining each member was given a promotion which made Lloyd one of the youngest Captains in the Rhodesian Army. The training covered air, sea and land insertions using a variety of equipment and weapons most notably Russian and Chinese stocks which could easily be acquired from numerous sources in Africa at the time. Baptism of Fire The training was completed in April 1984 and after a brief but well deserved rest the unit deployed to Kamanjab in north west Namibia. On April 17th 1984 Lloyd was informed that his unit had their first operational mission. The day before Communist insurgents had kidnapped three Red Cross workers from Otjovasandu. Royal South African Air Force (RSAF) Canberra PR.59 aircraft had located the tracks of the vehicles used by the kidnappers and followed them to a farm twenty two miles east of the town. Assessing the situation Lloyd decided against an airborne insertion fearing it would tip off the kidnappers. Hoping to maintain the element of surprise he chose a ground insertion instead but with heliborne evacuation for the hostages. That night Lloyd and his team were flown by an RAF Wessex helicopter to a location ten miles from the farm before making the rest of the journey on foot arriving at the farm at 0134hrs. Using silenced rifles the team killed two sentries and made their way inside the farmhouse. The insurgents were taken completely by surprise and were gunned down while many of them were either drunk or under the influence of narcotics. All three hostages were accounted for and were led outside ready for evacuation. Bad News It was at this point however things turned bad. Lloyd received word that the RAF Wessex en route to evacuate them from the farmhouse had been shot down by a shoulder launched surface-to-air missile. Then to make matters even worse an orbiting Canberra PR.59 reported that three vehicles were approaching the farmhouse. Lloyd had to move his men and the hostages out and so they commandeered a truck at the farmhouse and raced off while two Rhodesian Gloster Javelins were diverted from their attack mission to bomb the farmhouse once the approaching insurgents arrived. As they raced off in the truck Lloyd and his men witnessed first hand the strength of New Commonwealth air power as they watched the farmhouse being obliterated by four 1,000lb bombs. A second Wessex successfully evacuated the team and their hostages less than an hour later. Kidnapping Colonel Henerez As 1984 drew to a close Red-Team-Seven under Lloyd's leadership had firmly established itself as a potent hostage rescue force. Now they were to experience the other end of their remit. New Commonwealth intelligence agencies had highlighted Colonel Juan Henerez of the Cuban Army as the mastermind behind several important insurgent attacks on Commonwealth and Namibian targets over the previous year. Initially the decision was taken to kill him but there were those who would have preferred to apprehend him and question him. The intelligence coup from such a capture would be enormous. Although the SAS was the established organization for such a mission the Rhodesian Army managed to convince the South Africans to use their increasingly respected "Red Team" for the operation. From the Sea Red-Team-Seven was chosen for the operation which required them actually going in to Angola. Initially Lloyd wanted to be inserted by boat but the time frame required for a sea and land crossing meant that they would miss their opportunity to capture Herenez at his Angolan home. The answer was to be inserted by air from a Royal South African Navy carrier. The operation began on January 13th 1985. Two Commando helicopters were used to ferry the team and their equipment in to Namibia the idea being that if one was shot down the other could possibly pick them up (although Lloyd was dubious about the chances of such a rescue). Insertion As was standard practice the helicopters touched down several miles from the target and Lloyd's team made their way on foot. In what was almost a replay of the rescue of the aid workers nearly a year before Lloyd's team took out the sentries protecting Herenez's home with total stealth. However once inside things turned bad yet again. Intelligence had underestimated the size of Herenez's protection team and once Lloyd and his men entered the house they found themselves in a close quarters fire fight with alerted Cuban regular troops. Herenez himself lead the defence of his home and Lloyd's men became pinned down in the library. Lloyd called for air support from the two Commando helicopters that were en route to evacuate them. He knew the Commando was not ideally suited for such a mission but it was all he had. The two helicopters strafed the north side of the house being careful not to hit the library on the south side where Lloyd and his men were located. Fearing more Commonwealth troops were on their way from the orbiting helicopters Herenez and his men tried to retreat. Taking the initiative Lloyd and his men attacked the Cubans and managed to wound Herenez who was left for dead by his own men as they ran away from the house to get help. Extraction The Commando helicopters landed outside the house and Red-Team-Seven loaded their wounded prisoner aboard one of them before climbing on board themselves. The pilots then lifted off and hugged the ground as they raced back to the coast and the South African carrier. Only later did they learn that two Angolan Air Force MiG-23 fighters had been scrambled to shoot them down but had been unable to locate them. Category:Heroes & Villains Category:Namibian Bush War 1983-87